CHARACTERS

Brigadier General Henry Burbeck

Madison needed Federalists generals for the war effort, but he couldn't have them claiming all the glory at the expense of the administration . . . especially if they vocally opposed the administration even while fighting to defend the country. Burbeck is an excellent example of this problem. A Lieutenant in the Revolution, he was made a Brigadier General in July 1812.

Burbeck was eventually assigned to the defense of Connecticut and Rhode Island, major Federalist states. Initially the whole affair went poorly, with state officers claiming they were in charge of all defensive operations. Burbeck played along at first, even placing himself under the command of the head of the state militia.

In the end he managed a clever solution, when they refused to recognize the authority of the federal government at all, Burbeck fired all the officers and then told Rhode Island that it would now have to pay all expenses related to its defense, the local powers quickly fell in line with Washington.